UK Farr Development continues

Well Dave is good to his word again. he promised to get onto "Project Farr" after recovery from an injury and my god he has been busy. The 1st UK Farr is out the mould and is very light indeed 28kg! I know that there is still the floor and foredeck to add + paint and varnish but the boat I think the will then still come in under weight.

If you want to check out the progress please have a look at the link below and you can also get involved with the UK Farr association forum on what colour the 1st boat should be. personally in true cherub style I would go with Gun metal grey for the outside and floor and Lambo green for the side tanks and foredeck! If anyone has seen my rebuild of the Italian Bistro Cherub "Monkey Magic" you will know that bright in my book is always best! 

I have included a few snaps of the old beast for those interested.

     
Man looking back what a sexy looking boat. A little bit like the RS900 but as I built mine before there one I can say it was all my own doing!

Anyway getting back to the Farr here are the links to Y&Y site where the thread is
http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11267&PID=1357451#1357451

UK site thread
http://www.uk3-7class.org/forum.html#/20131217/what-colour-for-butler-boats-demo-boat-3491389/

Get involved and your colour scheme might be the one Dave chooses!!!

Butler Boats are getting their teeth into the Farr!!!

Evening all.

sorry for lack of activity something called a "Job" keeps getting in the way!!!!

Just a quick update. Butler has his teeth well and truly sunk into the Farr.

http://www.butlerboats.biz/

check it out. The 1st one is in the mould!!!

I know there must be a couple of people who have looked at the plans and will look at this and say it does not look like the plans. True but you must remember

1) This is "work in progress"
2) Dave is not building them to the plans more a mould which apparently is a modern way of doing things!

Anyway I am very excited that it is coming together finally!!

Other exciting news ADM sails have finished my sail!!!! Unfortunately due to the "job" thing I have had not had time to stop in and get it.  Thankfully I know Andy well so he knows I'm good for the money!!!!!

We are also in the process of getting a class association together! So the class can grow and become great!!!!

I know there is a bit of noise regarding the class. If you are thinking about getting one or want to find out more drop me a line and I will give you more info.

Bye for now!!!!!

Farr 1st meeting 16th Nov 2013

Well finally it happened we all got or lives sorted out and arranged a meet. Venue: Hull, yes Hull! I didn't really know what to expect as Ben Brown and myself got in the T5 to drive up on Friday night, loaded with sailing kit for artic conditions and a few tins to relax with when we finally got there (I think this was so Ben could get off to sleep quicker and not listen to the Z's kicking out from me!!!). 

The reason for the meet was two fold

1) Get everyone together to talk all things Farr, this included myself (Ex cherub crew and owner of Monkey Magic and Subtle knife), ben brown (ex Cherub helm, Owner of Loco Perro ,helm of subtle Knife and fellow Essex boy, Dave Baker (the other Farr owner in the UK and RS300 sailor), Daryl the Farr Farther (original importer of the boat and ex cherub crew of Loco) and Dave Butler of "Butler Boats" who is based in Hull.
2) To finally get the two boats out on the same bit of water!

The journey up was actually OK. it has been a while since I have seen Ben what with family and the fact although we work about a stones throw from each other work has seemed to get in the way as it always does. HTC Navigation got us there in just under 4 hours, which I didn't think was bad considering we were towing and traffic was slow for a period of the journey! We found "The Boat shed" Dave's workshop with ease and I must say what a cool place to work. It is I think, an old grain mill and Dave has been busy knocking through to make the workshop as big as it can be (it is surprising how many boats and moulds a place can hold if you are cleaver with your storage space!)

A few beers down in the van and suddenly it was about 1am!!!! Not bad for Friday night as I normally don't see it past 12!

Saturday morning and we were up early at 8:30 and met Dave's workman (there is only the two of them there but talking to them they don't hang around and seem to have a very well organised system which means they can meet orders and get a hull built in about two weeks! Dave Barker and Daryl arrived while Ben and I were out foraging for food (a full fry up at only £4.95, Sweet!!!).

We then spent the best part of the next hour and a half talking all things Farr which included the following:
1) Kite or no kite
2) Control line set up
3) Gantry or no gantry
4) Hull make up (wood, GRP, GRP hull, Wood cockpit etc.)

When we went off for a sail at the local lake (not the biggest place to sail and with a disappointing 8-9mph it was not going to be the place were we were going to get footage of the boat at its best but all that said and done we all managed to get out on the wire and at times the boats even got a wriggle on! Footage taken and boat swapping done we then headed in for a chat about the two boats. Dave's boat has a slightly different set up from mine which includes rear horse and off the boom mainsheet apposed to my centre mainsheet arrangement and the fact he has a gantry and much stiffer mast and a heaver sail cloth ment the boats did sail very differently but as the footage we took will show you the boats were still similar speeds.

Dave butler was very eager to hear from Dave, Ben and I about our sails and we gave him a number of things to think about as regards to the way forward. Although no firm plans have been set by Butler I am sure that the boat will end up with everything in place to hold a pole and kite which a sailor can then add to the boat once they have mastered the art of sailing the boat. This will give another dimension to the boat and one I feel will slow the movement out of the boat onto faster single handed craft like the Musto Skiff or RS700. I have sailed the boat in about 20-25knts and let just say it bites if your not careful! Although the boat will probably come ready to upgrade there are no plans in the first year or two of the boat being produced professionally here in the UK to race with a kite. I personally think this is a great idea as it gives people time to get the most out of the boat before wanting more and going all out! This will also mean it appeals to a wider audience, not a bad thing when bringing a new class into the UK sailing scene! it would then be up to the association (made up of those who buy the boat to decide the development of the class). As a trainer of cadets I see this boat having a great future within the cadet section. It has everything a young sailor needs to develop.

• It's is light and easy to manage on the shore.
• A sail plan that is not too extreme but has grunt due to the fully battened main and light spars.
• An easy and quick set up time and with the opportunity to develop skills with a small asymmetric which will improve the performance of the boat but be small enough to make it good round the cans in club racing. (In a breeze it can be a bit of an animal but still one which can be tamed and it is very reliant on consistent balance, trim and sail setting to get the best speed. the biggest bonus it does not travel at warp speed so time can be had making the right tactical decisions on the race course!) 

Saying all this the boat is not just suited to the young. I sail one and I am by no means young and I can see some dad's out there who would want to sail it!

Dave plans to see the boat in a variety of stages from all done and ready to go to what ever the buyer wants. Bare hull only, Hull and spars but not set up. This then allows the people who has always wanted to build a boat but has not got the time for the whole project to still get his or her hand sticky!!!! 

Anyway enough of me and my thoughts (oh and by the way this blog is my on option and I have not completed any true market research apart from asking older cadets what type of sailing they want to do and having the question asked to me by more than a few parents "which boat should I buy next?").

Here is a short video of the sailing so you can get a feel for the UK Farr 3.7. If you then want to see it in big winds have a look a the NZ footage which is all over Youtube with and without kites. you can then make up your own mind!   

 

 

Full video can be found at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wc4009GGbc

Farr development for UK class

So I have just got off the phone to fellow Cherub chum Ben Brown to make final arrangements for the 1st UK meeting in Hull this coming weekend. The idea is to go and meet the builder Dave Butler along with the other UK made Farr of Dave Baker, have a sail with both boats look at the developments Butler has been doing and hopefully get some footage of both boats together. Very exciting stuff as this is the 1st real steps to getting the class up and running in the UK. After sailing the boat for 1\2 of this season I know that this boat does have a market in the UK and I really hope that having the chance to get together and discuss all things Farr related the UK boat will be one which is appealing to a number of different sailors in the UK. I hope to keep a bit of a video diary on the weekend so people can get an idea of how it all went.

Keep an eye on this space as I hope to keep updating the progress of the project. If it interests you get in touch through the blog.

Pimp my Trailer.com!!!!!

Well as winter approaches and I had half term I decided to make a start on the trailer renovations! The trailer is a real wonder and someone in NZ obviously spent a lot of time making it and let just say the weather in the UK is slightly less wetter and therefore the paint of the wood had started to lift in places and it just looked a bit sad for itself! So a couple of days sanding and painting and it looks good as new. 

Trailer as it was (Spinlock Decals)

Trailer after a little tickle (Bye bye decals!)

Inside of trailer after the during tickling

 

Also I have been playing around with a hard top for the trailer so to decrease the frost and wet getting into the boat. A simple job or so I thought right up to the point where all the bits of Ply I had found in a skip were not the right length!!! So instead of it being easy it became a bit of a headache. Below is the work in progress!

 

Working out the jigsaw!!!!

 

 

1st two sections made

 

 

Back bits after painting

 

More sections post fitting and painting.

 

So I went down tonight to fit it all together and it is a tight fit but it does fit!!!!!  Happy days. Now I just need the cover to go back over the top and another little job will be done. Then I can get on with the boat tickling!!!!

 

 

 

 

  

New Sail

Got my new sail on order ADM sails a local sail maker has stepped up to the task of getting the Farr even faster (well as fast as I can go!).

Initial design is done and soon it will be up the mast and then GPS time trials shall begin!!!!

Pictures to come as and when its up the mast

Farr Roofing

Today I started on the winter storage which entails building a box roof for the trailer. Due to the boat being wooden I really wanted to make the boat dry and keep the frost out. A seemly easy design has become a lot more difficult due to the fact the wood I had been storing at work had been borrowed cut and used resulting in there being bits to work with and not much more. The result is that progress is slow. Luckily the boat is at present in the members workshop at the club so it is nice and dry. Work will continue next week and hopefully it will be closer to completion. Pictures below to show the progress.

Dyer Cup Disaster!!

Well all I can say is that my wind dance must of been rubbish! If any of you were on the East coast this weekend you will know what I mean. Both Saturday and Sunday were both beautiful days with the sun gleaming over the water but there was no bloody wind so in the end I ditched any thoughts of going racing and had the family round for sunday dinner! 

I did however take a little look at what is happening with the cherubs and did see my old boat Subtle Knife. She looked very funky with her upgraded T foil arrangement and it did get be thinking what little mods I could do to my boat over the winter!!!! Then I decided that I need to get the essentials done before anyhting else. The winter tinker list is below:

Paint Trailer again
Build a winter rood for the trailer box
Get new sail made ready for next season
Change the mast arrangement to have T terminals in the mast to reduce wear.
Alter the Lowers arrangement to give the mast a bit more stiffness and power.
Tickle the foils
Sand and varnish the foredeck
Replace Progrip where it is worn.

Quite enough for the timebeing I feel without putting a snout on it and a 21sq kite!!!!!! 

Dyer Cup Farr style

After a couple of weekends of being committee boat for an Opie open Eastern qualifier with Snipe helm Iain Marshall and then big boat sailing on an X yacht 332 in big sea and 35-45 knots I finally have the opportunity to once again focus on 12ft dinghy sailing. Next weekend is one of the clubs biggest sailing races where they mix everything together, fast handicap, medium handicap and cruisers all on the same start line. Thinking ahead I know that there are a couple of things I will need to do if I am to stand a chance. Here is my pre race to do list.
 
1) Do a great wind dance before the event to make sure it blows it tits off!
2) Do another wind dance and ask for slightly less than this weekend, not being picky but 18-20knots would be great!
3) Don't have a skin full prior to event as after extensive research in this area over a number of years I can say that this has not work particularly well especially when making tactical decisions!
4) Get out early and look at the course to see which end is best and all other pre race start stuff.
5) Nail the start and that's the big one. With the smaller sail plan that a lot of other boats and with a little less pointing ability I will need to be at the front with fresh breeze to get going as then once wiring and planning upwind I can hold my own.  As the boat does not have a kite the boat is relatively quick upwind this is the key to success!!!

The only issue at present is getting my silly injury out of the way. I am currently suffering with heel pain or plantar fascia. Basically you heel feels like you have trodden on a plug!!
Bloody hurts in the morning, gets better in the day and hurts again in the evening. Stretching seems to help but apparently it can be with you for a year or so.

Well I'll keep you updated after the race.

Down the mine!!!!

You know when you have "one of those days" that started the night before, well today was one of them!  Forecast was 11mph from the SW so it was going to be one of those marginal wiring days! After having a week off the booze and then having a couple of glasses of red last night = a bad head this morning.

Race was at 1.30 so thankfully I had a bit of recovery time but I was still out of the zone and it showed. First start I managed to get fairly clear air but further down the line a number of boats were OCS so a general recall was the order of the day. Poor eye sight due to sunglasses encrusted with salt = didn't see the flags so I was late to the start!

For the 1st half hour it was too much to hike but not enough to wire so I needed wiring from the kick bars which is not the most comfortable position!!!
I did start to catch others boats up but it was hard work and my body was still slightly dehydrated thanks to the wine and bacon before racing (bacon that is not wine that would be silly!!).
Grey clouds started looming and I was wondering how long it would be before it went off and just at that moment the wind came in shifted massively and I found myself on the wire and kick bars when the boat was pushed to windward and me no where to go but in the drink!!! Not my finest hour.

That cleared the head and then we started to perform. As soon as I could get flat on the wire and plane I started to eat up the distance between me and the next boat. A good bear away and great down wind leg and we got to the gybe mark. Seeing the rest of the boat ahead struggle and still with a fuzzy head the decision to tack round was going to be the safe option or so you would think. Tack done and now the bear away. As I may of mentioned I was slightly inhibited and not thinking straight so I forgot to let the kicker off and yes when I wanted the boat to go round it had other ideas and the bow went down and it was game over "down the mine we go!!!" I must admit the boat looks very big when its arse is in the air!!! A passing laser 2000 gave me a standing aviation for my effort. Now I was pissed. Two capsizes in a race both silly really and I was loosing all the ground I had made up. I managed to do the quickest righting of the boat in the history of man and was round West point and off towards home.

With the breeze building it was time for "the hunt" the nearest boat an eps! 500m at least ahead and With long reach it was a possibility and one that I wanted to do to save face after my earlier stupidity. Job done as we rounded the leeward mark and rounded to a fetch. The eps went into the mooring and I decided to tack out into the breeze although I was punching the tide. It paid off and I managed to lock down and get the speed going and I was first to the line.

When the results were published I ended up 6th! I think I am still a long was off consistent but at least we are heading the right direction

Blackwater challenge cup race!

So it seems that there is another opportunity to race the Farr as is in the challenge cup at the club.

At present I have talked a lot about the boats high wind capabilities but little of its low wind potential. Unlike another boat I have owned, I have resisted the temptation to tinker so I can go out and sail. As I have been reminded I am slightly fatter than the average Farr sailor but as Daryl has said a little bit of tinkering and it can be a little more competitive in lower winds but until then it will be sailed as is. !saying this the wind again looks to be good again 12mph with gusts of 26mph!

Hopefully met office has got it right (again), I'll keep you posted

Oliver Southgates Work

Thought it only right to share other work Oliver has done. If you liked the pictures of the Farr have a look at the other boats that sail at Blackwater SC.  

My thanks again to Oli for zipping around and taking the snap shots. Top man!!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/103036581590475909990/AugustBankHoliday2013?feat=directlink   Oliver also has a blog which you might be interested in   http://ojsphotography.wordpress.com/"

Pictures from the weekend

As promised here are some pictures from the weekend. Thanks must go out to Oliver Southgate who took the photo. It's not often you can get photo's and from someone who has a big SLR camera in wind with the sun out. Makes the Blackwater look positively wonderful!!!

Enjoy

 

 

 

Bank holiday fun

Well yet again the forecast was very accurate over the bank holiday weekend and as it was my first time out in over two weeks due to holidays, I was really looking forward to getting back in the action.

Sunday saw two races back to back from one of the clubs set courses. The wind was a bit shifty but was about a force 4 so just getting to where the Farr starts to perform well. A good start and first to the windward mark which I was happy with considering I have to free the boat off compared to other boats in the fleet such as the blaze and Lasers. For a small boat the Farr is great upwind when you can get out on the wire and get her flat.
Half way round the 1st race and I was sitting pretty just behind the 1st Blaze. This was a combination of good boat speed and using the tide as much as possible to aid boat speed. On the final leg the Blaze had just got away from me a bit (this was due to being a little lazy on the downwind leg and not really working the boat) so I ended up about 150m behind him.

Race 2 and I was getting tired and thinking about it, I think this was a combination of only eating breakfast and playing in the breeze in between racing! The wind seemed to have dropped off a bit and this meant putting in even more work to keep the boat going fast. So as you can imagine the mistakes started coming. I missed my footing during a tack and T bagged myself, rushed a tack which resulted in the slowest tack ever, so not my best racing performance!!!! At the half way point I sorted my life out and really worked hard (I must of as I got a sweat on!!) on the downwind leg using the slight swell to aid boat speed and body weight to stop the bow from digging in. Ended the race feeling happy about the second half but knowing my mistakes were going to be very evident in the results.

Results

Race 1: 1st
Race 2: 3rd

When I looked at the corrected time it was very close with the Blaze on 2208 and me on 2209. One point in it which meant the T bag cost me!!!!

Monday
Monday saw lighter breeze and it was a continual battle with the boat. It was those conditions in a trapeze boat you hate. Not really enough to get out on the wire and stay there so you end up going in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out and....... (you get the picture!). To round up the racing on Monday all I can say is bloody hard work!!!! In all fairness it was good to race in a variety of conditions so the handicap can become clearer. The issue with handicap racing is every boat has its day. For example on the Monday the  snipe was always going to fair well. Light winds with a lightweight crew and a boat that is great in light breeze. When the breeze gets up the trapeze boats start to come through. Racing in light air in the Farr is still a challenge mentally. Keeping your cool when the rest of the fleet seem to be going faster and trying to think tactically still keeps you interested even when its not seat of your pants stuff!!!

Not sure of the results for the Monday as I had to get home for grub so I bailed before the results were released. I would think about 4th or 5th out of the fleet of about 9 boats.

One of the members was out taking pictures so I have asked him to send any of the Farr he took over so I can upload them which should be fairly soon.

Back from holiday

After a great break in Dartmouth I am in the mood for a bit of sailing action. There is a two day series at the club and with forecasted wind of 12 to 14 knots it is looking like a great opportunity to do some medium handicap racing and see where the Farr lies in a medium breeze. The club at the moment have decided to give me a handicap of 1040 which I think is roughly where it should be (for a fat overweight helm especially after a week away with his brother in law with unlimited red wine and beer packed in the van!!!).

I will update after today race but just to give you some idea of how beautiful Dartmouth is in the sun see below

Wind is still building so looking like it could be a good one. Amway as a famous actor once said "I'll be back!"

1st bullet for the Farr!

What a morning! All I can say it was well worth not drinking last night so I could get up and sail with a clear head this morning. I made the decision last night to not drink after looking at the met office forecast and again it was bang on.

Start was at 9.30 so it was up and straight down to the club for 8.00 to get the boat out of its box and ready to race. SW again so a good wind direction wind sped at 8 was around 12 knots so getting near Farr weather. There was some cheeky little gusts coming through at about 18-20 knots so it was going to make for interesting sailing!

The course was full of up wind and dead down wind legs with only one reach right at the end and with wind over time up until HW planning was paramount to best use the tide and find relatively flat water.

The 1st race started well with a very average start but I made the decision to foot off and go for speed off the line and it paid off sailing under the Lasers, eps, phantom and Blaze. Tacking was ok up the beat and I managed to round the windward mark in 2nd. Not bad for my 1st race of the season. The bear away went well as I moved across the river to get out of the tide. Now time for the Gybe, not a great idea when hit by a sizeable gust and there was swim 1! It is a little disheartening when the rest of the fleet sail by waving but I managed to get the boat up right and then play catch up without loosing too much time.

The next upwind leg saw me munch some of the slower boat and find myself in a half decent position again. Swim 2 came as a bit of a surprize it was another down wind leg and after the Gybe. I think I slowed the boat down a little too much and then as the boat powered back up it seemed to trip over the bow and splash!!

A slight error of course reading meant I went for another downwind leg before realising that it was just foot off slightly back to the club and across the line. The end result was 5th not bad but I didn't feel I had done the boat justice.

Race 2 was better although a slight miscalculation on the start time = 10m from on the gun but second boat over the line. Same course so it gave me a chance to learn from my mistakes, or so you would think! Round the 1st windward make in pole position and looking good. Bear away not text book but passable. Gybe average until the boat rolled over on me to windward. Swimming is great fitness for sailing (that's my excuse anyway) . Again the fleet sailed past and again I was playing catch up. The Gods must have then decided to give me a break and once stable I managed to play a mega gust just right and found myself overtaking all but the phantom before the upwind leg. Upwind in a good 4 to 5 the Farr is quick for a 12 foot boat as long as you foot off and then drive the boat. With this in mind I managed to get him planning upwind and sail under the phantom before then pointing up again. Then it was a just a case of footing off in the lulls to keep the boat driving and the speed punched me through the oncoming waves.

As I rounded the last windward mark for the bear away back towards the club the phantom must of been a good 100m ahead. The tide had turned and I decided to keep the boat a little higher and use the island as cover from the tide. It was worth getting out of bed just for that leg. The phantom seemed to be punching the tide and not really cooking where as I was fully powered up and flying. 100 m was cut down to 5m as we rounded the mark. In fairness if the leg had been a little longer I would of had time to pass him but that was not the case. It was going to come down to the last beat and I decided to head in to the moorings and out of the tide. Knowing the boat is better when you foot off I carried into the moorings a little longer than usual. The phantom tacked early and as I tacked it was looking like he was going to make it to the line 1st but it was going to be close. Fully sheeted in flat wiring and powered up to the max the Farr did what it does best and thumped through the short chop and over the line about 10m ahead. Happy days.

When the results were published I had nicked it on corrected time from a laser 4.7. so all in all a great day out. Looking at the recorded wind speeds we has nothing less than 12 knots and the gusts hit just under 25 knots. The Farr is defiantly a great ride in these winds and it keeps you on your toes. Looking back and trying to find out the reason for all the swims and I think I might have found the answer. Dead down wind you have to get weight aft to stop the bow from digging in and you find your self behind the tiller. Now to Gybe you have to get in front of the tiller. This shift in weight results in the bow digging in somewhat and this instability cost me. I think the best way forward is a gantry and as the rules allow it if or when I was to build another I would defiantly put one on. Will I to this one? No I don't think I will, this boat is a bit of an iconic boat. It is the 1st NZ in the UK and my feeling is why touch it (at the moment).

I feel it only fair to end with a little prayer to the wind god:

Cheers for the sail today Eric and please may this wind continue until September!!!

Wind of the gods!!

Well it seemed all my grumbles did not go unnoticed. The forecast was 10knts and it delivered that and more! What a great sail. I started to feel the breeze increase just after leaving shore and it just built and built. At about 12 knots the boat felt great well balanced and with the weight in the right place the bow lifted and it took off! Although the boat is not as quick as the 700 the feeling is so much better. Movement of weight and lowering the trap lines makes masses of difference and the upwind speed and feel was lovely as I could use the full power of the rig to get the boat really moving.  

It was now time for the downwind sections to ensure that when I finally get a chance to race at the club I can keep him (yes its a him, apparently all NZ boats are) upright. Gybe 1 not bad still upright, Gybe 2 better, Gybe 4 nailed it!!

Now I wouldn't say I am the best sailor by any standards but when all the other boats out (lasers) are going over and you are just powered up and flying you have got to hand it to Farr to produce a great fun boat that you can sail in a decent wind even if the boat is old in design and looks compared to other more popular skiffs. It does still have that Cherub feel and if you get it wrong it can bite back but the more I sail him the more you get in tune with what might happen.

All in all a fantastic sail in wind averaging 12 knots but with consistent prolonged  gusts of about 20 knots. Top gust recorded from the club ( which is sheltered from where I was sailing) said 22.6 knots (26mph).

Hopefully the forecast is right for today which says 17mph and my lovely wife has said that she will eat alone again so I can go out and play. I have however taken the role of cleaner monkey today and after spending all morning upstairs I only have the upstairs bathroom to do. Then its off to the club to wait for the tide to come in!!!

God I love the summer we are having!!!

Promising for a good sail after loosing the wind yesterday!

So you have all this time off when your a teacher and now the van is finished and the house is done you think you would be able to go and sail. In theory Yes, In  practice you need wind to have a good sail especially if your not racing!!

Yesterday afternoon/evening was at first looking promising. Wind direction SW which is great and a steady force 4 I was hoping to be able to get a few hours in and set a course up using club buoys to practice for the next opportunity I have to race (unfortunately with summer holidays, strange tides and racing big boats I have had little time to sail after breaking up from school (i.e. teaching). It turned out to be a bit disappointing. The wind died and although the upwind legs were enough to get out on the wire, downwind was a little on the dull side. Having said this it did give me a chance to practice some different ways of gybing (from standing/ kneeing and sitting). Technique he is getting there as I am using weight more to steer and lots less rudder which can only mean faster on a race course. The other thing I noticed is how in light to medium winds minor adjustments of the controls makes a massive difference to flow over the sail and boat speed. The sail has 4 sets of tell tails, 3 on the sail high medium and low and 1 set on the leach. It was really useful to spend time on the rig without having to think about trim so much so not a total waste of the afternoon.

I left the mast up last night in the hope the breeze would fill in today and it looks like it has thank god! The only issue now is will it stay when the tide gets here? Humm, I'll let you know later...

Delicious Banana Muffins yumm yumm

Delicious Banana Muffins recipe - All recipes UK

Seriously good sailing food

Breeze on!!

What a perfect afternoon. Managed to get away from school on time and straight down to the club. I put the mast up on the boat last night so it was rig tension on, gear on and out. The sea breeze had filled in to about a 3 so it was out to play! As I made my way out of the moorings the breeze increased a little and I found myself flat wiring and powering upwind. The boat felt well balanced after minor adjustments to trim and I blasted up the side of Northey Island and out into the bay. I decided to do a bit of training and figured a rough triangle course using the club racing marks and a nav buoy. This forced me to think speed and then work out the best way to trim the sail whilst out on the wire. Unlike the 700 which has continuous control lines going to the rack which gives for reasonably easy change of control my Farr has a slightly different set up and although they come out to the edge of the cockpit they are less easy to change when out on the wire. This is something I think I will look at along with the cleating system on the main in the winter, but for now I just want to sail without playing too much.

As time went on the breeze increased and there seemed to be more breeze on one side of the river so in true Cherub style I ditched the race training in favour of a pure blast!!!! All I can say is if you want to have the thrill of a planning sail without the continuous swimming you get when learning to sail other skiffs, then think Farr!! Off the wind it gives the pure feeling of speed you get from sailing a 12 foot boat with a bit more stability. Although blasting I did decide to develop gybing which I must admit is different from the 7 due to the low boom height and lack of room. It is more an in kneel and duck affair than a run and duck. Also the tiller is slightly further forward that other Farr's so that restricts the room as well so it is all about figuring the best way forward. Like the Laser a good pull on the mainsheet aids this but I am finding that then movement is needed forward to keep the boat flat. By using the chines as well you use a lot less rudder and this keeps the boat moving. I kinda did all of these but I would say I'm still a way off perfecting it. Gutted I didn't have the GPS out with me but I did manage to get the live weather read out. Top gust was 22knots at the club and it there was more breeze out where I was. All in all a bloody enjoyable sail!!!

The only slight downer was the tide went out too soon and no water and having raise the dagger board up above the boom = a capsize into 2ft of water and a muddy mast and sail.

For cast looks good for tomorrow so I might see if the GPS is going to play ball for tomorrow.

 

live weather from BSC website

Www.blackwatersailingclub.com

 

 

Monday Night Sail

Well after being away this weekend in the Norfolk Broads I was desperate for a sail. Yesterday looked like it was lush. Unfortunately I was stuck on the A140 watching the tree's shake and sway.

So when it looked a steady force 4 from the live weather It was time to get the Farr back out it's box and go for it. I was a little surprised how quickly I can now rig the boat so I was rigged changed and out within 35 minutes!

Well the wind had died a little (7-8 knots) but I still had a great sail. I decided to do a short triangular course to try and refine a few of my very rusty skills which too much crewing has created. Well Let just say I won't make the Olympics yet, but by the end of the night tacking was more fluid and I am starting to figure where the transition from hiking and wiring is for me. I also had a play around with putting the bow down and going for speed 'V' pointing and at times pinching. As the wind was a little shifty to say the least pointing seemed to pay but this is very difficult to judge as there was no other boats out.

All in all although it was not the most exciting sail it was a good chance to learn a little bit more and hopefully improve.

Snipe sailing this weekend at the club so no opportunity to go Farr sail but hopefully there will be the opportunity at the end of next week, so fingers crossed for some hot weather and a sea breeze!

Wind Wind and More Wind!!!!

So I spent the weekend RYA Volvo coaching which was OK until the predicted forecast became a reality! 20mph and gusts of 35mph! Not really ideal weather for coaching 7 to 13 year olds! So it was plan B go onto our small lake which is set just back from the club, a perfect facility to teach on a day which would of otherwise been a dry theory session day.

The weekend was a success despite the weather but it did get me thinking about the changing wind we seem to be getting. It seems to me that as each year passes the number of windy days seems to be increasing in our area. I am not saying that I have factual evidence more it feels like this is happening. If I am in fact correct it does strengthen the argument for a more manageable skiff style boat here in the UK and would the Farr be the ideal boat for that?

If your thinking would I of gone out at the weekend for a sail the answer would be no for a number of reasons.

1)      I was coaching!!

2)      The gusts were very irregular and although I think the boat could quite easily be depowered it was the range between gust and normal wind which would of put me off.

3)      I have only just got the boat and intend on spending the summer sailing and not fixing it! (Well not just yet!)

 

Anyway I digress. The slight change in my intended programme resulted in me getting the chance to talk to a few of our Topper sailors about their intended journey through sailing. Most have aspirations to sail fast handicap boats and are looking to end up in 49rs or single handed Musto Skiff or RS700’s. The double handed option is fairly well covered with Laser 3000, 4000 and RS building the 200, 400 and 800. I suppose my issue is if you choose the single handed route and have done your time in a topper, you have a fairly easy transition into a Laser but then it becomes more difficult. Contender, RS 600, RS 700 or Musto? As a person who has been instructing for a while now (too many to remember) when I am asked what I would suggest by cadets and parents as to the next stage I really do struggle. Some of our cadets in the past have made this transition easily into high performance skiff but the majority have tried and failed due to not having the time to put into the boat and then either get turned off sailing altogether, only sail on light wind days or sell up and buy another class. If we had a boat in the UK which bridged the gap would that help cadets achieve their aspirations, provide a safer progression?

 

I would love to hear from people via the comment section. Am I barking up the wrong tree thinking the Farr could be a great boat to help bridge this gap or do I have a valid point? Hummmmm!???

Finally summer is here (Or have I spoken Too Soon!)

So it looks like Summer has finally found its way to Essex at last! This week has been lovely so far and I even managed to get out on one of my other boats to have dinner with my wife! We took the tender and got a board and enjoyed fish and chips in the cockpit and watched the sun set. You can't beat it.

 

 

I also got to start cutting some of the Cedar I got off the builders and decided to cut it to length to see how many dagger board cores I can laminate together.

 

Working at a school who have a fully kitted out wood work department is a real blessing and I happily spent an hour or so cutting and trimming using the bench saw. This has saved masses of time and I at a rough guess I have enough to make 7 Farr Dagger board cores! Not bad for free hey!

 

 

Now I just need to start sourcing carbon I'll be away. Picture below of the stash ready to be laminated up!!!

 

 

 

It seems that UK Farr developments are heating up and Dave Butler of Butler boats is talking to sail makers as well as my investigations so soon we will hopefully one or two quality names for people to choose from.

 

I have had email Contact from Andy Davis of HD sails  (http://www.hdsails.com/)  and having sailed with his sails in the Snipe know they are a top quality sail maker who are very competitive on price. ADM sails of Heybridge (http://www.admsails.co.uk/)  are also keen to get involved. With two boats in the UK out on the race course already and builds in various stages of completion I don't think it will be long till we have a UK fleet!!!! 



 

Light wind sail!

So today I had my 1st light wind sail! Not the most exciting sail but a sail none the less. Things were going well round the windward mark just behind the RS100 and phantom.
Wind then decided to do funny things which meant I went from a sitting position to a swimming position. Bugger!

I didnt bother looking at the result as I kinda know where I came!!!

On a positive note I had a great chat with two potential sail makers in the UK and touched base with Fyfe in Nz. So Project UK Farr development is a small step closer. Ill keep you posted!

The Calm after "The Storm"

Just looked through the camera after the shortest windsurf session in history and thought I would share this photo with everyone.

Although it is hard to see in the picture there was 2 rainbows and under the small one the light was very cool.

Fixing the Gantry

So this morning I went down to sort the gantry problem.

I decided to do both the gantry and a hole in my JP Wave windsurf board as well! 10mm of Epoxy and Colloidal Silica and West filler and off we go. unfortunately I could not find the pot of dye to make it go black but as this is just a test to see if it works and it will need sanding back after it has set so I will sort the colour issue out later. 

   
right so Job done all I need to do is let it go off.

A couple of hours went by and then guess what yes rain!!!!! I think it has gone off enough but I will see what it is like tomorrow.

So with the boat not ready to sail it was windsurfing with friend Sarah. It was all looking good force 5 gusting 7 and then more rain and it went flat calm. We decided to go anyway and had an interesting sail for at least 30 minutes with no real wind and then 40 odd Knots came in with rain so hard it hurt my head (it's times like this I was I had some hair to take some of the impact!). After getting my arms pulled out from there sockets the wind proceeded to go back to next to nothing so we binned it and went in for a shower!

Hopefully tomorrow the wind will be slightly more consistent and enough people turn up to race and I can have my 1st race! 

Friday night Sail!

Whoo what a sail!

15 to 20 knots SW perfect!

Mast up sail on and out. Just decided to go and blast on a broad reach I had forgotten how fun 12ft boats are after selling my last Cherub and sailing a 700. The think I like about the Farr is the simplicity of it and the fact that in breeze it is still sailable without too much commitment to sailing it. With the 700 practice was the order of the day which is difficult with all the other things life throws at you, but with the Farr you can not sail for a while and then get in it and have a great sail. Now all I need to do is get out on the race course and she how "he" goes in the medium handicap fleet.
 
The sail did flag up a few little things which I need to do like the rudder gantry. There is two plastic washers which slot inside the Carbon Gantry which the rudder pin goes through. these lift up when sailing which means when this happens the rudder does lift up. Originally there was a tiny little bolt that fixed them into the Gantry but the nut on one has disappeared and both nut and bolt are both gone. So I decided that I would glue them in. 

Pictures below to show what I am talking about

   

Wind Wind Wind!

So, I get down the sailing club last night trying to get a cheaky sail in! Was looking good at 15knts, so I got the mast up, turned the boat upright and then it went off! It was windy big enough to blow my sail bags and mast bag out of the trailer. I went to have a peak over the wall and the river was a sea of little white horses! Due to not having any safety cover and there being no one else at the club I had to stash the sail in so I decided to spent the time going over the rig and sorting it out ready for today. Evening tide, weather looks good  so hopefully I can finally get out tonight!

Fingers are crossed!

1st Little Tickle

So tonight I got the boat off the road base to see what little jobs lay ahead of me. Not a lot more than Daryl already highlighted (which was nice!).

Found the foam strip from the back of the daggerboard case had come away so I turned the boat over to see what the underneath was like to find where it had come loose allowed the board to hit the back of the case. No major problem I just filled the dent with some resin and filler and she is good as new (well with a little bit of a sanding later that is). Next was a look at the board and found a few minor pin holes and cracks so I used the rest of the bog to sort them out and left it in the kitchen to go off. 

As it got dark at this point is was put the boat to bed and finish up for the night.

I hope to get out this week (work permitting) for a sail on an evening tide if I get the chance I'll have a another look at the lowers as Daryl, Ben and I all think that they need tightening so a loop and chain plates might be the way to go on this one.

Pictures below to show the evenings work!

No foam

 

 

A make do with the dagger board to get out sailing.

 

 

The Ding!

 

 
Filled with foam replaced

 Picture of the boat just for fun!